Second Chances
by dagger101
Summary: What happens when Leland Chapman finds a young girl sleeping outside his office
1. Chapter 1

Tru watched as a good looking guy with long brown hair locked up the office for the night and headed to his car. When he had driven off she crept out of the shadows and lay down by the front door to sleep. While lying there she thought about how it had got this bad and how she had got here. Her boyfriend Peter well ex-boyfriend now had come home the night before claiming she was sleeping with his best friend Ben. Who had come up with that she didn't know.

When she said she wasn't he had smacked her about and threatened to kill her. So she ran from the house last night and ended up here as she was tired. She had no idea where she was going to from here but it would do for now. She finally fell into a restless sleep at around 2AM. When Leland returned to the office the next morning he found a pretty girl of around 30 with a tear stained face asleep on the front steps.

He set down his bag then gently tapped her on the shoulder. She awoke with a jump. He could see she was clearly used to violence and terrified by her black eye and split lip. "Sorry I meant to be up and away before now," she mumbled as she bolted down the street despite her cracked ribs. "Who was that?" pondered Leland as he picked up his bag. 'I wonder if she'll be back tonight?' he thought to himself as he opened up the office for the day.

He was still thinking about the mystery girl when his dad called. "Howz it," said Leland as he answered his cell phone. "Howz it son, just to let you know we're in Kona and on our way to you," said Dog as he grabbed his bags from the baggage reclaim. Leland wasn't paying attention as he thought he saw the mystery girl going past. It wasn't though she was too tall.

"Leland are you listening?" asked Dog bringing him out of his thoughts. "Sorry dad, what?" asked Leland who still wasn't listening. "We're on our way, then you can explain what's up," said Dog repeating himself as they (Dog, Beth, Youngblood and Daune-Lee) headed to the car. "Ok...I'll see you then, k bye," said Leland knowing they would help him find her.

45 minutes later Dog, Beth, Youngblood all walked in the door. "Hey brah, howz it going?" asked Daune-Lee as he pounced on his brother playfully. "I need a favour," said Leland as he lit a cigarette. "What's that?" asked Beth looking sceptical; she knew what Leland's favours could be like. "There was a girl sleeping on the steps this morning, she looked like she was in trouble but ran off before I could help," began Leland going bright red.

"And let me guess you want to find her," supplied Beth instantly knowing what he wanted to do. "Yeah, I do," said Leland throwing Beth a thankful look. "What does she look like?" asked Dog as they put out their finished cigarettes. "Well she's about my height with shoulder length red hair and sparkling blue eyes, she has a tattoo of a heart on her elbow just below a bruise. You'll know it's her by the black eye and split lip," said Leland thinking back.

"Well if she's homeless and sleeping on the steps she maybe at the soup kitchen. I'll check them, you guys keep busy, I'll go alone as she's probably scared of men," said Beth getting up. They all nodded knowing that Beth was probably right. "Take some mace with you in case you need it," said Dog as he handed a can over to her and pulled out a file. "Thanks Bethy," said Leland throwing her a smile. "No problem brah," said Beth as she walked out the door.

She headed to several soup kitchens with no luck. As she started to go round them again her cell phone started to ring. "Any luck?" asked Leland when Beth answered the phone. "Not yet brah, I'm going round them once more then I'll be back," said Beth as she shook her head. She knew that Leland had a thing for helping someone in trouble. "Thanks Bethy," said Leland before hanging up. She headed round to the first soup kitchen she had been at that day and spotted a girl walking out of it matching the description that Leland had given her.

"Hey sista, I've been looking for you," said Beth smiling as she walked up to the girl who looked scared. "Me?" asked Tru as she got ready to run. "Don't worry I won't hurt you, I only want to talk to you," said Beth thankful that the mace can was in her bag. "Ok," said Tru as she relaxed a little. Beth took in the state Tru was in as they took a walk along the beach. She noticed that not only did Tru have a split lip and two black eyes but she had bruises up and down her arms.

"My name's Beth Chapman, what's yours huni?" asked Beth after a few minutes of silence. Chapman, Tru knew that name from somewhere...then she realised that they were bounty hunters. Why would they be coming after her? "Tru," she replied as she watched the ground, she was getting herself ready to run in case she didn't like what Beth had to say. "It's nice to meet you sista," said Beth sticking out her hand for Tru to shake. She still had no idea what the woman wanted but she shook her hand anyway.

"I believe you were sleeping on the steps outside my son's office this morning," said Beth kindly as they sat down. Tru should have known that it was something to do with that, she realised where she knew the Chapman name...it was from watching it on the TV. The office she had slept outside of was Leland Chapman's. "I'm sorry I had nowhere else to go," mumbled Tru as she studied the ground. "Aw my sista I ain't here to shout, Leland was worried about you and wants you to come back to the office with me," said Beth smiling.

Tru's head snapped up...go somewhere where there was a man...after Peter she wanted to stay well clear of them. "I'm sorry I can't...I just can't," said Tru as she got up and ran down the street taking all the alleyways so that she could lose Beth in the process. Beth sighed and headed back to the office, she had been right the poor girl was terrified of people. "Did you find her?" asked Leland as she walked into the room. "Yeah but when I mentioned your name she was off running like a rocket," said Beth as she sat down heavy hearted.

"I don't understand," said Leland looking confused. "It means she's had a bad experience with a guy and she doesn't want to be near any at the minute," said Youngblood clearing things up for him. They all thought for a few minutes on how they could help her start to trust them and come to them. "Tonight I could leave a blanket and some food for her, soup all the time gets boring," said Leland thinking out loud. "That sounds like a good idea, have you got a blanket here?" asked Daune-Lee as he looked round the office for nice things to eat.

"No I don't I better get one," said Leland looking worried. They had caught the guy they were looking for while Beth was out so they were done for the day. "I'll run and get one now," said Leland as he grabbed his car keys and headed for the back door. "Get nice food for her to," shouted Daune-Lee as the door banged shut.

Leland jumped in the car and headed round to the shop that sold general supplies and looked through the blankets. He picked a nice thick one as he knew it could be cold at night. He then headed for the food section and got her ready cooked sausages and chocolate. He picked up a bottle of cola as he headed for the checkout. When he returned to the office that evening the others were getting ready to leave.

"Here put this in the bag," said Beth as she placed a note inside. "What does it say?" asked Leland being nosey. "Just that this stuff is for her and I would like to meet her again at Zippys for lunch," said Beth as they turned the lights out and headed out the door. Leland set the stuff on the step and looked into the shadows where Tru was standing, if he saw her he didn't say anything as he headed inside and locked the back door and came out and locked the front.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as he had driven off she carefully made her way to the steps. She sat down slowly as he ribs were hurting her after running earlier that day. When she opened the bag she found a note from someone, a nice thick blanket and some food. 'Yay I won't have t live on soup today,' she thought to herself as she threw the blanket over her and settled down to read the note.

It was from Beth and it said 'Hey sista, I didn't wanna let you get cold so I got you these. Sorry I made you run off, hope you will meet me at Zippys tomorrow at 2PM for lunch, love Beth'. She wasn't sure if she would go or not but she probably would seeing as she had nothing else to do. She settled down to sleep vowing that she would be up before they arrived the next morning. As the crew arrived at the office the next morning they noticed Tru asleep on the steps with a pair of foxes round her keeping her warm.

"Hey Beth, did she tell you her name?" asked Leland as he pulled up and parked the car. "Yeah it's Tru, I'll wake her you go in the back and open up," said Beth as she shot them a look that meant no arguing. They all nodded and headed to the back door when they jumped out of the car. Beth walked slowly up the steps and sat down beside Tru. She gently shook the young girl awake.

Tru awoke with a start to find Beth looking at her. "Damn it," she mumbled to herself, again they had beaten her, as it was Beth and the fact she was still hurting she didn't run. "Morning huni, sleep well?" asked Beth as Tru sat up and rubbed her eyes. Leland was watching from the window but didn't go out as he didn't want to scare her off. "Yeah, thanks for the blanket and the food, can I leave the blanket here? I'm going to sleep here as it's safer than most places," said Tru as she got up and stretched. That was the wrong thing for her to do as she doubled over with the pain of her ribs.

"Are you ok?" asked Beth concerned as Leland looked out the window worriedly. He only left when his dad called him over to start looking at the file for the guy they were after. "Sista I think we should get you checked out," said Beth still concerned as Tru sat down to catch her breath. "It's ok Beth you don't have to, I'll be fine," said Tru as she stood up again and found she was ok. "You meeting me for lunch?" asked Beth as she started to pack away the blanket and Tru lifted the food.

"Yeah sure see you there at 2PM," said Tru as she walked away. Beth sighed and got up. She picked up the bag with the blanket in it and headed inside. "What happened? Why was she was in pain?" asked Leland before Beth had even sat down. "I don't know why she's on pain but I'll find out," said Beth as she started to formulate a plan in her head. "Is it possible to put this bust off till later big daddy?" asked Beth as she fluttered her eyes at him, a move that always worked. "Sure thing Bethy but why?" asked Dog as four interested faces all looked at her.

She sighed as she sat down. "I'm meeting Tru for lunch and I'm hoping that I can get her to go and get checked over. I was thinking of walking round and if I can talk her into it I was going to ring one of you...probably you big daddy to come and get us," said Beth as she considered this again. "Don't worry Leland you'll get to meet her in the end, she just needs to build up some trust, the guy who did this really did a number on her," said Beth as she looked at Leland's hurt face. She knew he wanted to help but she didn't understand why he was acting the way he was.

"Ok, I understand," said Leland who wasn't really sure himself why he was acting the way he was. He knew she was hurting and wanted to help but he was feeling a connection to her that he had never felt before especially with someone he had never met. "Sounds like a good plan. I could take the others on a bust to keep them away," said Youngblood looking at Dog. He knew Dog wouldn't want Leland or Daune-Lee to mess anything up. "Yeah take Fric and Frac on a bust, that sounds like a good idea Beth," said Dog getting everyone to laugh.

So Youngblood, Daune-Lee and Leland picked out a file off a known runner and started work on that. They left the office as Beth started to get ready to meet Tru. "I'll ring you when we need you big daddy," said Beth as she gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading out the door. "Stay safe," called Dog as the door swung shut. Beth walked quickly to Zippys and was there ten minutes before she was meant to be. She sat down in a booth and waited for Tru to appear.

While she was waiting she ordered cheeseburgers and fries for both of them. When Tru arrived she spotted Beth straight away and limped over to the table. She was hurting more as she had to outrun another homeless person as they wanted the food she had. "Are you ok sista, you look worse than you did this morning," said Beth concerned as Tru winced as she sat down. "I'm fine," said Tru as she forced a smile and tried not to think of the pain she was in. "What happened? Who did this to you? We (Daune and I) can help you, we want to help you," said Beth as she took the young girls hand.

Tru looked into her eyes and saw that she was genuine; it was then that she broke down. Beth moved round beside her and hugged her tight. "It's ok sista, you're safe now," said Beth as she stroked Tru's hair. "I was with a guy named Peter and things were going great until he came home really pissed off claiming that I was sleeping with his best mate. I told him I wasn't which is the truth cos I don't see Ben around the place that often, he didn't believe me and did this to me," said Tru through her tears.

Beth looked at her in horror, how could anyone do something like that to such a nice young girl. "Daune and I will look after you, you can move in with us and in time meet Leland and Daune-Lee. Don't worry huni they are nothing like Peter," said Beth as she saw Tru start to panic. "Are you sure?" asked Tru as she started to relax a little. "I'm positive huni I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it, how about we get you checked out by a doctor to start with and we can take it from there," said Beth as the order appeared.

"Thank you so much Beth. Can I meet Daune? I've seen him on the show, he looks really friendly," said Tru as she threw Beth a smile and they began their lunch. "Oh he is huni, I'll ring him when we're done he can take us round to the hospital," said Beth as their drinks arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

Twenty minutes later when they had finished eating Beth paid for the food and they went out to meet Dog. "Thanks for that Beth," said Tru as she smiled without fear. "It's no problem huni, I'm glad you enjoyed it, there's Daune over there," said Beth as they headed towards the car. As they got closer Tru started to slow down, she wasn't sure what to think of the man behind the wheel. He looked friendly enough but looks could be deceiving.

"Don't worry huni you can trust him, I won't introduce you to anyone you can't trust," said Beth as she took her arm and they continued walking to the car. When they reached the car they both jumped in the back. Beth had got in so Tru wouldn't be scared on her own. "Hey baby girl, you must be Tru, I'm Daune but you can call me Dog," he said kindly as he turned to face her. Tru smiled nervously at him. "Yeah, that's right, are you sure it's ok that I can stay with you?" she asked as Dog started up the car.

"Yeah, it's no problem we are happy to have you, I hope you like kids," said Dog as he made his way towards the hospital. He noticed Tru's eyes light up. "I love kids," she admitted after a few minutes. She loved kids and had always wanted her own but after what Peter had done to her she was doubtful she would ever trust anyone to get as far as having them. When they reached the hospital Dog and Beth came in with her.

When they saw a male doctor coming forward Tru started to panic. Beth jumped up and went to speak with him, he walked away and a female doctor appeared. "Miss Hardy come this way so we can check you over," said the doctor as Tru looked at Beth. Beth understood the look and got up and went with her leaving Daune to wait on his own. Beth stayed with her the entire time except when she went for an x-ray. They came back out smiling.

"I'll be fine in a few weeks, have a few cracked ribs," said Tru as they headed out to the car to head to the house they had in Kona. "I better warn you now, in the house we have Tucker, Justin, baby Lyssa, Cecily, Bonnie-Jo, Abbie and Garry," said Beth as they got nearer to the house. "But don't worry none of them will hurt you, the older ones will want to get the guy who did this to you," said Dog reassuring her before she started to panic.

"No Leland?" asked Tru surprised that she felt upset at not seeing him. When he ha woken her the day before she had opened her eyes to see a kind, caring face and she wanted to get to know him more. She cursed herself silently for being so scared of men. "He's at his flat, I can call him and get him to come round if you want," said Dog as he pulled into the drive way. "It's ok, I wouldn't want to bother him," said Tru as she jumped out of the car. "I need to ring him and see how the bust went today so I can ask him to come round for dinner," said Dog as he got out of the car and locked it once Beth was out.


	4. Chapter 4

"Only if he wants to," said Tru as they made their way into the house. "He'll want to, he'll want to see for himself that you're really here, he cares about you," said Beth as they walked in the front door. They were met by baby Lyssa who walked over to them smiling. "You must be Tru, I'm baby Lyssa, welcome to the family," she said as she held out her hand. Tru shook her hand and smiled she couldn't believe everyone was so friendly.

They walked into the living room together to be greeted by the sight of everyone round the TV watching a DVD. "Hey kids we're home," said Dog as he tickled his youngest Garry. "Daddy," the younger kids yelled as the others waved at them. Tucker and Justin got up and made their way over to say hello to Tru. They introduced themselves and then sat down again; they had been wanted by Dog that she had a fear of men so they would let her come to them.

After a while Dog headed into the kitchen to ring Leland, Daune-Lee and Youngblood. When he came out he was smiling. "We have four more for dinner," said Dog as Tru and Beth headed in to make a start on the cooking. "Baby Lyssa was saying you can share her room with her tonight so you aren't on your own," said Beth as she pulled things out of the fridge. She knew Tru would jump at the chance instead of being alone with so many men in the house. "That would be great, thanks Beth," said Tru as she started peeling potatoes and cut them into fries. "It's no problem sista, we're all here to help and we'll help you learn to trust men again, you deserve a second chance to be happy," said Beth as she cut up the meat to make a casserole.

Half way through preparing dinner Leland, Daune-Lee, Youngblood and Davina appeared. Davina came straight into the kitchen to help and meet Tru. "Hey sista I'm Davina, Youngblood's wife, you'll meet him all in good time," said Davina as she gave Tru a hug. "Thanks sista," said Tru as she returned the hug. She was smiling, she couldn't believe that this family had taken her in and made her feel so welcomed and loved. They were so patient and understanding of what she had been through and knew she would come to them.

"Is it ok if I go meet the rest of the guys?" she asked shyly. "Of course sista do you want Daune to stay with you?" asked Beth as she walked towards the kitchen door. "Please if he doesn't mind," said Tru she wasn't ready to be with them on her own. Beth smiled and thought they were beginning to get through as she seemed to be beginning to trust Daune. "DAUNE GET IN HERE," yelled Beth from the kitchen door. He came walking in with a face on him like he'd done something wrong.

"No you haven't done anything wrong. Tru wants to meet the rest of the gang and she wants you with her big daddy," said Beth smiling as she kissed him. Tru laughed as she watched his face light up. She wished she had something like that. "Come on baby girl, I'll introduce you to the team," said Dog as he held out an arm for her. She took his arm and smiled at Beth as they headed outside to the garden where Tim was. "Tru I would like you to meet my brother Tim," said Dog as Tim held out a hand for her to shake.

"But you can call me Youngblood," said Tim smiling as she shook his hand. Tru looked him over and thought he gave off a friendly personality; she would be able to trust him. "It's nice to meet you," said Tru shyly. "It's good to meet you too baby girl, all we've seen of you is you lying on them cold steps, are you staying with Dog and Beth?" asked Youngblood as Garry ran past him towards the pool where Leland was. They watched and laughed as Garry dived bombed in on top of Leland.

Together Dog and Tru headed over to the pool. "Leland there is someone here who wants to meet you," said Dog as Leland reappeared above the surface. As Leland made his way over t them Tru's cell phone started to ring. "Excuse me a minute," said Tru as she answered, she was shocked to hear it as she didn't realise she had it.


End file.
